Five Tips for Fitness Marketing in the New Year

December 26, 2017

December 26th starts a whole new season of purchasing. Consumers have eaten their fill and are regretting it. I’m talking about the resolution season. The time of year everyone vows that this is the year they better themselves. Many of these resolutions involve fitness and health goals. We have all seen the tried and true meme of empty gyms December 31st and packed gyms on January 1st, but how do businesses capitalize on this season? The good news is your target audience is vast; the bad news is your competitors are many. Below, I cover 5 tips for fitness marketing in the New Year and how to make the most of this peak season.

1) Reach Your Target Audience

This is the time of year that your target audience is at its largest and most impressionable. If you have the budget, you should be going after as many people in your target audience to ensure you capitalize on each and every resolutioner. Hopefully you have prospected heavily in preparation for audience retargeting during the biggest fitness season of the year. You might open up retargeting to everyone who has visited your site in the last six months to one year versus a six to 12 week window. Do not put $100 of spend behind one advertisement and serve it to a five million person audience. Do target as many qualified people as you can while still hitting your KPI goal. The strategy and budget looks different for each business, so start brainstorming like three months ago on how you can make this happen. Need some help with planning? Take a look at our 3-step process.

2) Use Unique Messaging

People might need some convincing, especially if your product has a high purchase point. Customize messages for your consumers based off what channel they entered from, what pages they visited, what products they clicked on, what actions they completed on your site, etc. Separate your audiences to serve them unique secondary messages that will convince them to buy. If someone signed up for an email asking to learn more about the product, your next message might be a more in depth look at product features. If someone abandoned their cart, you might need to hit them with a message emphasizing the great deal they’ll miss out on if they don’t purchase now. If you haven’t utilized dynamic products ads on Facebook, now is the time to start. See an example of audience segments and messaging here.

3) Don’t Shame Your Potential Customers

We covered unique retargeting messages in the previous section, but this applies to your larger message. Why are you telling people they should buy your product, and why should they purchase it now? The sentiment around fitness has changed over the last couple of years. Individuals are more focused on being healthy not skinny. There are so many more mainstream categories of fitness than ever before: cross fit, yoga, boot camp, ninja warriors, those just starting their journey, those who hit a plateau, and those who are looking to reach the ultimate physique. When communicating to consumers why they need your product, don’t insult them, their bodies, or their idea of what being fit means. Make your message unique to your brand and brand values, and steer clear from clichés like “New Year, New You!”

4) Set an Accurate Timeline

Yes, right before and after January 1st you are likely to see the highest volume of purchases in the fitness industry, but that doesn’t mean people stop trying to better themselves January 2nd. Don’t be afraid to talk about failing in a relatable way, and how you can help customers get back on track. A lot of resolutioners will fall off the wagon in January and look at February as a fresh start. Create messaging around why your product can help them succeed this time, or if they’ve already purchased your product the value you provide that they might have missed.

5) Help Them Succeed

Too often businesses focus the majority of their efforts on acquisition and not retention. If you produce content of additional value (preferably for no fee) and distribute it to your customers, they will likely be happier they purchased from your brand rather than a competitor. Ideally this content will be good enough to motivate them to use your product to accomplish their goals. When they accomplish their fitness goals, they’re sure to tell their friends about how they did it (and the brand they did it with). Results from 2018 customers will be the best advertising for New Year 2019.

Have some tried and true tips that you use for New Year marketing? Share them with us in the comments below.

Quinn specializes in creating communities on social media that benefit the consumer and the brand. Since 2014, she has worked with small businesses and large companies to harness the power of social media to generate positive reviews, incorporate customer service, and drive sales.

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